RT’s special report on 2015: Rise of ISIS, Russia not so isolated, EU migrant crisis

With 2016 just around the corner, RT takes a look at the events that formed the departing year, including those that didn’t make into the media spotlight for some reason.

Islamic State horrors

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), the terrorist organization that spread chaos and horror in both the Middle East and Europe, made it into the headlines more often than others terror groups last year. Not taken seriously in 2014, IS became stronger in 2015, seizing cities in Iraq and Syria and organizing atrocious terrorist attacks, including mass shootings in Paris and the downing of a Russian passenger aircraft in Sinai, among others.

Migrant flow into EU

The burning issue of last year, the refugee crisis saw European leaders desperately searching for a way to manage the huge streams of asylum seekers leaving war-torn countries in Africa and the Middle East. As refugees started storming train stations, violating state borders, and staging riots over mistreatment and red tape, waves of anti-refugee protests began sweeping Europe. This has resulted in a rightist shift in the political landscape of a number of European countries, including France, Poland, Denmark, Sweden.

Off MSM’s menu

However, some of 2015’s biggest topics received scant coverage in the main stream media, if they were covered at all. The war on terror completely overshadowed the revelation that oil was being smuggling into Turkey by Islamic State. In the same fashion, stories about the French service dog, Diesel, killed during a Paris anti-terror raid, enjoyed much wider coverage than terror bombings in the Middle East and Africa.